Workforce Trends Play a Role

The report said several occupations have become more integrated by gender over the period studied–for example, women now account for 43 percent in the generally better-paying professional occupations, versus 30 percent in 1988. Another factor was the decrease in generally lower-paying clerical jobs, with 13 percent of federally employed women now in such positions versus 38 percent then. Women also are catching up in terms of educational levels and actually now have more years of experience on average than men, it said. Tracking employees hired in 1988 specifically, GAO found that differences in the use of unpaid leave and breaks in service–more commonly used by women for childbirth, for example–accounted for less than 1 cent of the gap.